Extension of Proprietary Periods

Requests for extensions will be considered for extenuating circumstances outside the control of the PI. The most common circumstances where proprietary time extensions have been approved include parental/personal leave, sick leave, or military service. PIs may submit their request through the NRAO Science Helpdesk and justify that the approved leave takes significant time away from the office. Decisions on requests for an extension of the propriety period are made by the Assistant Director for Science Support and Research. The length of the extension will be considered on a case-by-case basis based on the conditions of the approved leave. For these cases, the extensions must be requested at least one month before the end of the proprietary period. An extension will not be granted if requested within 30 days before the data are scheduled to become public. Vacation, science, sabbatical leaves will not be considered for an extension. The proprietary period of Large proposals will not be extended in the cases of approved leave. The proprietary period may be extended without PI consultation if errors are found in the data by Observatory staff or extenuating circumstances occur (e.g., Archive Acess Tool is unavailable for a long period of time).

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The National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

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